thoma@reed.UUCP (Ann Muir Thomas) (05/15/85)
*** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE *** There seems to be a lot of stuff getting kicked around about Western medicine vs. non-Western medicine. While I owe my life to Western medicine (I'm diabetic, juvenile Type I, and need insulin (a special diet isn't enough-- my body makes NO insulin at all), there is one area where what has happenned in Western medicine is absolutely shameless. This is the area of obstetrics, which treats a pregnant/in labor woman like a "sick" person, when she is really just going through a normal process. I'll refer you all to "The New Our Bodies, Ourselves" for more information...
era@hao.UUCP (Ed Arnold) (05/17/85)
> ..., there is one area where what has happenned in > Western medicine is absolutely shameless. This is the area of obstetrics, > which treats a pregnant/in labor woman like a "sick" person, when she is > really just going through a normal process. I'll refer you all to "The New > Our Bodies, Ourselves" for more information... A "normal" process, yes; but that little trip down the birth canal has the potential for maiming or killing your child. My wife and I would much rather that she had been tied to 10 monitoring machines, than having our daughter severely damaged (cerebral palsy). Unfortunately, we didn't get that choice. Think about it. How would you feel if your child was 18 months old, and couldn't even roll over? Pregnancy and birth is a quick 9 months; afflictions like CP last forever. -- Ed Arnold NCAR/SCD (Nat'l Ctr for Atmospheric Research/Scientific Computing Div.) USPS: POB 3000, Boulder, CO 80307-3000 BELL: 303-497-1253 UUCP: {hplabs,nbires,brl-bmd,seismo,menlo70}!hao!scd-sa!era CSNET: era@NCAR ARPA: era%ncar@CSNET-RELAY